Black Masks, a play about self-discovery
I guess it’s the beginning.
I know I should be happy.
This is the right decision,
But I get this weird feeling.
I can’t quite get it,
I’m sitting here in class.
It’s not what I envisioned…
These words, rapped by the narrator in senior Zahkee Williams’ two-act play Black Masks, capture the conflicting emotions of Tyler, a first-generation Black freshman attending a fictitious, predominantly white university. The play opens with 18-year-old Tyler and his cousin, Malcolm, hanging out in their city neighborhood, discussing Tyler’s imminent departure for college. Tyler’s friends and family celebrate his decision to pursue the pre-med track, with the goal of becoming a doctor.
“I don’t have many choices,” Malcolm tells him. “You don’t want to end up back here.”
But as the play unfolds, it is Tyler who increasingly feels he doesn’t have many choices, trapped by the expectations of others into taking science classes he doesn’t enjoy. When a creative writing class ignites a spark in him, he begins to reconsider what college — and life — are all about.
Williams wrote Black Masks and directed and produced the March 18 staged reading of the first act at the Modlin Center Acting Studio. Although the play is not strictly autobiographical, he noted many similarities between Tyler’s experience and his own coming to the University of Richmond as a first-generation Black student.
He, too, started college on the pre-med track and soon realized he was far more interested in creative expression than hard science. Ultimately, he decided to major in leadership studies and film studies.
“Coming to college can be stressful, because you think you may let down your family, administrators, and friends,” Williams said. “It’s important to take advantage of opportunities in college, while not losing yourself. I’m big on self-actualization, going after your passions.”
After meeting with Dr. Kristin Bezio to discuss creating a play for his Jepson School of Leadership Studies senior thesis, he started writing Black Masks in fall 2023. Bezio, who has years of experience in stage management and whose scholarship focuses on leadership in literature, plays, and films, serves as his mentor for the project.
Last summer, Williams received a Jepson School grant to research script writing and West African spiritual practices. He incorporated some of those practices into his play in the form of three animals — a deer, owl, and bat depicted by actors wearing masks — that represent ancestors who offer the protagonist guidance. This semester, the University’s Cultural Affairs Committee awarded him a $4,000 grant to support the staged reading of his play’s first act.
The Bonner Center for Civic Engagement connected him to senior citizens who frequent the Peter Paul Development Center and to students from Armstrong High School, both located in Richmond’s East End. He invited them, as well as a professor and student from Virginia Union University, a cross-town, historically Black university, to act in the staged production. “It was important to me to work with community partners from neighborhoods similar to the one where I grew up,” said the Philadelphia native.
He also had plenty of help from the University of Richmond community: Dr. Bezio and senior Mary Beatty stage-managed the show; Modlin Center music technology specialist Christien Ayers helped compose the music that four Spider jazz musicians played, with junior Toby Tate serving as music director; senior Alex Broening ran the lights; and Monica Smith, vice president for inclusion and belonging, acted the part of the dean.
Ultimately, Black Masks explores the masks everyone, but especially many Blacks, wear to conform to societal expectations and the importance of pushing back against those expectations to find your true self. As for Williams, he said he looks forward to pursuing a creative path post-graduation.
“If life is hard, I’d rather choose a struggle I will love.”